The tool of the present invention is particularly adapted for use with railroad cars such as a coal hopper car which has a brake wheel mounted on one end thereof for manually setting and releasing the handbrake of the car. The brake wheel is nearly always mounted so that it is above the head of a crewman walking trackside and mounted so that the wheel is disposed perpendicular to the ground. Rules require that a cut of cars be left with enough of the cars having their handbrakes on so as to avoid risk of a rollaway. While a cut of cars at a railyard may be adequately secured by having two per cent of the handbrakes applied, in the coal fields the requirement might be for sixty to seventy per cent of the handbrakes to be applied.
In order to properly set and release such handbrakes, a crewman must mount the car, ascend a ladder on the side of the car, step to a ladder at the end of the car so that he is then between adjacent cars, place one foot on the brake platform, grasp a rung of the end ladder with one hand and then operate the handbrake with the free hand. After setting or releasing the handbrake, the crewman must step back to the end ladder, step to the side ladder, descend the side ladder and then dismount from the car. The crewman is also required to climb the ladder only on that side of the car on which the brake wheel is located. Therefore, if the handbrake to be operated is on the opposite side of the car from where the crewman is standing, he must cross between the cars which is very dangerous or he must walk completely around the cut of cars.
It is apparent that the above procedures for setting and releasing handbrakes is very time consuming. Furthermore, it can be quite hazardous. If the crewman crosses between adjacent cars, he must place himself between the cars for an extended period of time and must step on safety appliances which were never intended to be steps. If the appliances do not function properly or if the equipment is wet and slippery, the crewman could be injured. If the cut of cars should move unexpectedly while the crewman is mounting or climbing the car or when he is between cars, the results could be disastrous.
Accordingly, an important objective of the invention is to provide a tool which will permit a crewman to set or release a handbrake without having either to climb the equipment or cross between cars. In other words, the crewman can operate the handbrake while standing on the ground without stepping in the gauge of the railroad tracks and without going between cars. This will increase the efficiency of operating the handbrakes and will also result in lowering the incidence of injuries to crewmen during such operations.
In addition to operating the handbrakes, the crewman may also need to operate a retainer valve usually mounted on the same end of railroad cars as the handbrake. A retainer valve is a mechanically operated valve which controls the operation of the air brakes of the railroad car. If there is air in the brake tanks of the car, the air brakes can be left on or can be released at a desired rate by the retainer valve. The process for operating retainer valves is similar to that involved in operating the handbrakes since a crewman must mount the car, climb the side ladder and hang on to a rung of the ladder with one hand while operating the valve with his free hand. This procedure has the same drawbacks as the procedure for operating the handbrakes. Here again, it is desirable to provide a tool which will enable a crewman to operate the retainer valve while standing on the ground without stepping in the gauge of the tracks and without placing himself between cars.
A still further duty of a crewman is to open and close knuckles of the coupling mechanism used to connect adjacent cars. In the past, erewman have stepped in the gauge of the tracks to operate the knuckles. It is therefore also desirable that the tool enables a crewman to operate such knuckles while standing on the ground outside of the gauge of the tracks.